StreptoWHAT?

It began as a simple rash. We'd dealt with these before. I was a pro. I have extremely sensitive skin and I often get rashes when the weather is changing, when I try a new product or, basically, whenever I breathe. The rash on my 2 and a half year old son's bottom looked just like the kind of rash I get on my legs where my pants rub and I just assumed his skin was suffering from the dry Colorado weather like mine does every.single.year.

I slathered the rash with all kinds of creams from calendula, GroVia Magic Stick to CJ's BUTTer. We tried air time, changing to pull-ups at night instead of cloth diapers. We even tried coconut oil.

But the rash got worse. The spots started to bleed. I just assumed that was because he just wouldn't stop itching. We couldn't kick it.

And then my daughter got a weird sore on her neck. Little pimple like sores started popping up on her legs and face and then finally on her diaper area. In a matter of mere hours, the rash went from something that looked simple and manageable to a site that truly scared me. I decided it was time to go see the pediatrician.

The answer, "Streptococcal." StreptoWHAT?! I'd never heard of it but I knew I was David and this rash was Goliath. She prescribed a topical antibiotic, as well as an oral antiboitic, for both kids.

I thought that things would start to clear up. Little did I know that the battle had just begun and this Goliath was laughing in my face. Things got worse. I came down with Mastitis and an eye infection which made it impossible to drive or go out into sunlight for several days. I was put on an antibiotic eye drop but decided to flush the mastitis out without antibiotics.

YIKES! Although there is no real way to say that these things are all related but I'd never had either issue.

Here is how we beat Goliath.

1. Normally our kids take a bath together but I started bathing them separately.
2. I washed all of our diapers with bleach and rinsed them over and over again in hot water. I packed them away until I was sure the rash was completely gone.
3. I bleached the tub after every single bath. And bleached the toilet every time my son went to the bathroom.
4. We applied the diaper rash cream as prescribed.
5. I put my son in a onesie as often as I could so he wouldn't itch the rash and touch anything.
6. I made sure to wash my hands, my son's hands and my daughter's hands as often as possible.

If you are dealing with a rash that isn't familiar or isn't going away, it is a good idea to reach out to your pediatrician. If you have multiple children, do your best to prevent the rash from spreading between them (use separate towels, different sets of diapers, different bathing times, etc).

Also, the wonderful ladies at Kelly's Closet and The Cloth Diaper Whisperer are an amazing resource for solving any cloth diaper related issue, including how to clear out the bacteria in your diapers from these yucky Goliath type rashes.

Don't allow yourself to be intimidated by or defeated by this giant. You don't have to give up cloth diapers just because your child gets a bad rash.

Mindy is mommy to two spunky kids who have both been clothed diapered mostly from birth!  She can often be found stalking kellyscloset for no reason or trying something “crunchy” like washing her hair with baking soda!  Follow along (when she has time) at neckdeepinlove.blogspot.com.